Blue Like You

Archive for October 11th, 2008

I am planning to take Sunday off (and give my wrists a well-deserved rest), while I join extended family members for Thanksgiving dinner.

I just want to leave you with this very fine Thanksgiving editorial from my new favourite newspaper, The Record - Giving thanks in uncertain times (excerpt below):

…Well, let us stop and take stock — then send fear packing. Let us count the blessings of life in Canada and the things that even recession cannot easily strip away. And if we do, we should not only be less apprehensive, we should be a whole lot more thankful.

We should be thankful for a country that is, in reality, half of a continent, filled with the beauties and wonders of nature and endowed with almost every natural resource the modern world requires. We have enough farmland to feed ourselves and entire nations besides. We have cities, teeming with skilled, educated workers and enriched by the wisdom and experience of millions of immigrants who have come from every nation. We have one of the world’s most advanced economies, some of the world’s top universities and most effective hospitals. We have police who protect, rather than oppress. We have dissent that respects the law.

Let us be thankful for our freedom. We have democracy. We have the right to choose who leads us. We have good and dedicated people who want to serve us. We have a citizenry which, if our record of persevering through history’s worst depressions and wars can serve as any example, are able to rise to any challenge, withstand any crisis and stand shoulder-to-shoulder to help those around them who should stumble and need a hand back up. If such patriotism is unfashionable, we plead guilty. We call it realism.

None of us can know what the coming weeks will bring. But we can know that there is no better place on Earth to be now and in the coming days, however tough it gets, than this home we call Canada. To paraphrase the words of a very old prayer: For what we are about to receive, may we be truly thankful.

Amen.

*   *   *   *

BTW, could someone please send that line that is highlighted in red to Danny Williams, Elizabeth May and Stephane Dion? (What a crew!) Thanks.

Stephane Dion continues to dig himself in deeper.

*   *   *   *

Sunday Update : Lorrie Goldstein - No Time for carbon bombing. This is required reading before voting on Tuesday!

* * * *

Related -  Darryl Wolk:

I just love this photo. My husband grabbed it moments before Prime Minister Stephen Harper exited Stephen Woodworth’s campaign office yesterday.

It was a quiet moment amidst a whirlwind of activity. You can see that the child and the man are focused solely on each other. This was not a mug for the cameras. It is a genuine, tender picture of our Prime Minister.

Please share this photo with your friends and family at Thanksgiving, as well as Sandy’s Harper Government Record that she has kindly agreed to add as a page to my blog.

Together we can make this happen!

*    *    *   *

Update: More citizen journalist reporting here and here.

Do you feel the excitement???

We are PUMPED, Canada!

MSM pundits seem to be framing this election as a choice between ‘Mr. Bean’ and ‘Mr. Mean’. I can only surmise that the reason for this is that it sells more newspapers and ad spots than boring talk about the pros and cons of carbon taxes.

But let’s get down to the nitty gritty of this bizarre election - Do you want a strong leader or do you want someone to protect and cuddle?

(Maybe that’s why Dion’s getting so much female support! He evokes the maternal instinct.)

After watching the video at Stephen Taylor’s, I am left with feelings of pity for this man. He is clearly out of his element. In fact, I almost just want to pick him up, give him a big hug, and dry his tears.

But do Canadians really want to elect a Prime Minister whom they pity?

*   *   *   *

Update : Stephane Dion and the Price of Principle (Star). This is actually quite an interesting piece:

"Others don’t quite know what to make of him. He needs a lot of time to think. He’s best in speeches and letters, not in sound bites. So it takes time to recognize him as a competent political actor."

Jean Lapierre, a cabinet minister in Martin’s government and now a Quebec TV commentator, is more blunt. "The problem with Mr. Dion is he’s got the charisma of a garage door."

Aww… Poor Stephane.

*   *   *   *

Sunday Update: Greg Weston - An election with no voters?

HALIFAX — Martha Murphy stirs her tea pensively as she ponders the national election turned mudfest, and a resulting dilemma likely shared by millions of voters across the country, especially women.

"I was hoping the last couple of weeks (of the campaign) would help me decide how to vote," says the 30-something marketing assistant. "Instead, I actually feel a lot worse about all of them."

She "can’t stand" Stephen Harper, and while she feels sorry for Stephane Dion, "this guy as our prime minister? Ah, no."

I had only begun reading the Star’s endorsement of Dion and the Liberals, when I was overcome with howls of laughter at their choice of unimaginative phrases lifted directly from Liberal talking points.

Let’s see here:

- neo-conservative

- Bush (three times!)

- Mike Harris

- “ripped up the Kelowna accord”

- “secretive and controlling”

- “mean-spirited”

I give them a D for lack of originality. In fact, I’ll give them a P for plagiarism.

*   *   *   *

Update: Well, gearing up for another day when my stats go through the roof thanks to SDA!

Must have been hard for the Star to put out this one - Ontario boosts Tory lead.

Stephen Taylor has saved me a pile of work. I was planning to do a post of MSM election endorsements, but Stephen has it all here awaiting your viewing pleasure.

And these folks obviously didn’t pay any attention to the Star editorial…